Maren Oates

I am a mixed media printmaker who loves combining colorful patterns and interesting textures with bold shapes and a little bit of stitching. 

My Process

Nearly all of my work starts with a gel printing plate, which is a smooth, portable, gelatin-like surface for monoprinting. 

Some of my gel printed papers become stand alone prints, others are the foundation for mixed media work, and still others are cut into pieces for collage. Almost all of them end up with a little stitching too. 

In addition to a gel plate, acrylic paint and a brayer, my printing tools usually involve found objects from the recycle bin or nature, and handmade stencils. 

My style of gel printing typically starts with what I call "base" layers. I like to create some initial layers of colorful textures and blocks, then add more graphic elements using stencils on the top.